(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for the control of odors that develop from agricultural waste containing fecal matter or urine or combinations thereof which accumulates in animal farming. In particular, the present invention relates to the use of Pseudomonas sp. strains that assimilate ammonia into proteins necessary for biomass, degrade skatole, and reduce COD. The present invention further provides a composition comprising Pseudomonas sp. strains which degrade ammonia at least 500 ppm in fecal waste matter, urine, or combinations thereof for use in odor control from said waste. The present invention further provides aqueous compositions that are stable for long periods at room temperature prior to use for controlling odor production from said waste.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Animals raised for food consumption by humans or other useful purposes are raised in large numbers. These large concentrations of animals lead to the production of large amounts of solid and liquid waste materials. Typically, the waste material is collected and maintained in animal waste holding pits situated beneath or adjacent to a facility in which the animals are housed. Sometimes, the wastes are stored in lagoons, waste holding tanks, waste wetlands or other type of waste holding facility. The waste material is allowed to degrade by activity of naturally occurring microorganisms or by addition of compositions consisting of specific microorganisms. As the pits become full, the waste materials are removed usually by pumping and the degraded waste materials are then often spread across crop fields for their fertilizer value. While means for degrading and utilizing animal wastes has been extensively investigated in the prior art, there is another aspect of animal wastes that has only recently become a concern, offensive odors.
Offensive odors from animal wastes have long been associated with animal production. However, with the recent advent of large animal farming operations and the migration of urban populations to areas of close proximity to these farming operations, offensive odors produced by wastes from animal farms has become a matter of great concern to animal producers, municipalities, and regulatory authorities (reviewed in R. I. Mackie, et al (1998). J. Animal Science, vol. 76, pp. 1331-1342). While feed and body odors are not usually considered offensive, odor generated from animal waste such as manure and its decomposition during collection, handling, storage, and spreading are considered offensive. Decomposition of manure generates a wide variety of volatile compounds and intermediates which are emitted into the environment. These compounds are the source of the offensive odors associated with animal waste. In addition to being offensive to smell, many of the compounds are harmful to the environment. For example, fecal matter contains approximately 50% ammonia and urine contains 97% urea nitrogen which is readily converted to ammonia by microbial urease. The ammonia produced volatilizes into the atmosphere, which enhances the deposition of sulfate and nitrate, creating acid rain that acidifies lakes, soils, and woodlands. In addition to the environmental and atmospheric consequences, the loss of nitrogen by ammonia volatilization, wastes large quantities of nitrogen which could be used for crop production.
While a number of compositions and methods for their use have been introduced to process animal waste, none of the compositions or methods solve the problem of offensive odor production from animal wastes.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,605,502 and 4,727,039 to Hata compositions and methods for use of the compositions for purifying animal waste from water and water-containing material are provided. Specifically, compositions consisting of certain bacterial strains of Thiobacillus, Pseudomonas, or Nitrobacter which satisfy the requirements of the "SNC theory" established by Hata were shown to be useful for degrading animal waste products and for some strains reducing ammonia concentrations. However, Hata neither recognized the problem of offensive odors, nor disclosed that the compositions were effective at reducing offensive odors produced by animal wastes.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,627,069 and 5,716,523 to Powlen compositions and methods for using the compositions are provided for treating on-site animal waste pits with a composition consisting of certain Lactobacillus bacteria in order to soften and fluidize hardened solid wastes therein. While the compositions disclosed were effective at softening animal waste that had solidified in waste pits, Powlen neither acknowledged the problem of offensive odors from waste pits nor disclosed that the compositions were effective at reducing odors associated with waste pits.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,656,486 to Daniels a method is provided for treating and conditioning poultry manure with naturally occurring microorganisms to form an organic product that is capable of biologically removing hydrocarbon-based molecules from soils and other materials. The method does not address the production of odor from poultry manure.
While the prior art has provided compositions for treating animal waste materials, the art has remained silent on the compositions and methods for controlling odor production from animal waste pits. Therefore, there remains a need and demand for methods and compositions for treating animal waste pits or similar waste holding facilities so as to reduce the production of offensive odors. Such compositions and methods should have sufficient efficacy to make their use practical with respect to farm economics and be environmentally safe. Furthermore, the compositions and methods should be compatible with existing equipment and waste holding facilities and not require use of additional expensive equipment. Preferably, in addition to reducing offensive odors emanating from waste sites, the methods and compositions should also be effective at reducing buildup of animal waste products. The applicants' invention provides compositions and methods that reduce production of offensive odors and thereby provide for the safe, long term maintenance of animal waste pits or other similar waste holding facilities.